I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to shipping containers for components.
II. Description of Related Art
Shipping containers are oftentimes used to ship manufactured components from the place of manufacture and to their place of assembly. For example, in the automotive industry, many of the individual components of the automotive vehicles, such as the automotive windshields, are manufactured at one location and then shipped to a different location for assembly on the automotive vehicle.
With reference now to FIGS. 1 and 2, a typical prior art shipping container 20 of the type used in the automotive industry is shown. The shipping container 20 includes a rigid frame 22 which is typically constructed of rectangular metal tubing 24. An elongated cylindrical rod 26 is also mounted to the frame 22.
Still referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a plurality of dunnage fingers 28 are pivotally mounted to the rod 26 so that the dunnage fingers 28 are pivotal between a release position, illustrated in solid line in FIG. 2, and a holding position, illustrated in phantom line in FIG. 2. In their release position, the dunnage fingers 28 are positioned out of engagement with the components 30 (FIG. 1) transported by the shipping container 20. Conversely, when the dunnage fingers 28 are pivoted to their holding position, the fingers 28 engage the components 30 thus holding the components 30 at predetermined positions to the shipping carrier 20.
As best shown in FIG. 2, each prior art dunnage finger 28 includes a retainer 32 having dunnage 34 molded onto the retainer 32. The dunnage 34 is constructed of any suitable elastomeric material, such as urethane, and the precise shape of the dunnage 34 will vary depending upon on the component 30 transported by the shipping carrier 20.
In order to mount the dunnage fingers 28 to the rod 26, each retainer 32 includes a throughbore 36 having a diameter substantially the same or slightly larger than the outside diameter of the rod 26. With the rod 26 removed from the shipping carrier 20, the dunnage fingers 28 are slid onto the rod such that the rod 26 extends through the retainer bores 36 and so that the retainers 28 are positioned in a side-by-side relationship. Additionally, locking disks are typically provided between adjacent fingers 28 in order to space the fingers 28 apart from each other as desired.
This previously known shipping container, however, suffers from several disadvantages. First, the assembly of the dunnage fingers 28 onto the rod 26 requires that the rod 26 be removed from the frame 22, the fingers 28 inserted onto the rod 26 from one end of the rod 26, and the rod 26 thereafter attached to the frame 22. The entire assembly operation is labor intensive thus adding to the overall cost of the shipping container 20.
A still further disadvantage of this previously known shipping container is that, in the event that one of the dunnage fingers 28 becomes damaged and requires replacement, the entire mounting rod 26 must be removed from the frame 22. Thereafter, all of the dunnage fingers 28 from one end of the rod 26 to the damaged dunnage finger 28 must be removed from the rod 26. A replacement dunnage finger must then be reinserted onto the rod 26, the other removed and undamaged dunnage fingers 28 reinserted onto the mounting rod 26 and the repaired assembly finally reattached to the frame 22. This repair process, however, is disadvantageously time consuming and therefore expensive.